Published: Monday, April 29, 2013 at 4:22 p.m.

Last Modified: Monday, April 29, 2013 at 6:28 p.m.

Michael Grant was high on a synthetic drug Aug. 31, 2011, when he became convinced his wife was having an affair with a neighbor and aliens were on his roof.

After scaring off his family, the then-36-year-old Rocky Point man took to shooting holes in his roof to get rid of the invaders. Then he went into the backyard of his Rocky Point home and opened fire into the night about 10:30 p.m., Pender County Assistant District Attorney Joe Bowman said in superior court Monday.

Bullets pierced the home that shared a backyard fence with his. Inside was Anthony Wayne Edens, 42, and his three children ages 9,11, and 15.

Telling his children to get down, Edens, armed himself with a revolver and went into the darkness of the backyard to confront his neighbor and friend. For his unsolicited intervention, Grant pumped seven bullets into Edens.

After Edens fell and managed to crawl 8 feet back into his yard, Bowman said, he called out for his oldest child Elizabeth who was cowering inside calling her mom at work. Despite hearing the gunshots, Elizabeth came out of hiding and crawled across the pitch black yard in a search for her daddy. She found him, mortally wounded at the foot of the children’s swing set, Bowman said.

Just three days earlier, Edens, a God-fearing man, deacon at his church and member of the church choir, had taken Grant and his children out on a boat. The two were friends, family said, in spite of Grant’s troubled past and present.

The recitation of the facts, and subsequent victim impact statements from Edens’ family, moved Superior Court Judge Arnold O. Jones to tears. “I’m human, too,” he said, in relating that he was a father of a 15-year-old girl who also “loves her daddy.”

“To say that Mr. Edens was loved would be a huge understatement. He had a huge heart that stopped beating because of this defendant,” District Attorney Ben David said.

On Monday, Grant, 38, was reticent when he pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in Edens’ killing and was sentenced to life without parole in prison. In exchange for the plea, all other charges were dismissed against him and he saved his life. The District Attorney’s Office had been intent on seeking the death penalty against Grant if a jury found him guilty.

Grant and his attorneys declined to speak at the sentencing, but Grant hung his head as three of Edens’ sisters spoke directly to him.

Kim Morris said her sister-in-law had called her and asked her to go to the house because of the gunshots, and Morris did.

Using the light from her cell phone, she said, she also crawled across the yard as Grant exchanged gunfire with deputies. When she found “Tony,” she tried to revive him with CPR, to no avail.

“I will never forget the crying of Danielle and Tony’s children when Danielle told them ‘Daddy’s dead,’” Morris said.

Edens’ sister Lisa Lyons could barely contain her anguish during the hearing. Her whole body quaked and she sobbed as the facts of the case were read.

She looked directly at the crying Grant an arms length away as she spoke.

“I understand that you’re a man with many troubles. I understand that the friendship you had with my brother was real and genuine,” she said, urging Grant to use his time in prison to save other’s souls. “Michael, I can tell that you have a remorse about what happened, because you’re not looking me in the eye, and that means a lot to me.”

Edens’ sister Missy Allen, with an unwavering faith in God, also spoke directly to Grant, quoted bible passages and told him she had a Bible for him. And she said that she forgave him.

Her kindness brought Grant’s mother and aunt to tears.

“Remember that you’re loved,” Allen told Grant.

In another hearing Monday before Judge Jones, the stepson of a Hampstead man killed by gunshots to the head and chest in September 2011, also pleaded guilty to first-degree murder.

James Gorby, 39, will be sentenced Tuesday to life in prison without parole.

Gorby could have been sentenced to death if he’d gone to trial in the Sept. 27, 2011, killing of his stepfather, Roger Arnold Mock Sr., 67, who was found dead inside his Electric Lane home in northern Hampstead.

In exchange for the plea to first-degree murder, charges of breaking and entering, larceny of a motor vehicle, two counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of stolen property, were dismissed.

According to police, Gorby broke into Mock’s home to steal firearms and anything else he could sell, but was surprised by his stepfather, who came home and interrupted the burglary. Gorby killed Mock with a blast to the chest from a 12-gauge shotgun, and shot to the head with a .22-caliber rifle.

<p>Michael Grant was high on a synthetic drug Aug. 31, 2011, when he became convinced his wife was having an affair with a neighbor and aliens were on his roof. </p><p>After scaring off his family, the then-36-year-old Rocky Point man took to shooting holes in his roof to get rid of the invaders. Then he went into the backyard of his Rocky Point home and opened fire into the night about 10:30 p.m., Pender County Assistant District Attorney Joe Bowman said in superior court Monday. </p><p>Bullets pierced the home that shared a backyard fence with his. Inside was Anthony Wayne Edens, 42, and his three children ages 9,11, and 15.</p><p>Telling his children to get down, Edens, armed himself with a revolver and went into the darkness of the backyard to confront his neighbor and friend. For his unsolicited intervention, Grant pumped seven bullets into Edens. </p><p>After Edens fell and managed to crawl 8 feet back into his yard, Bowman said, he called out for his oldest child Elizabeth who was cowering inside calling her mom at work. Despite hearing the gunshots, Elizabeth came out of hiding and crawled across the pitch black yard in a search for her daddy. She found him, mortally wounded at the foot of the children's swing set, Bowman said.</p><p>Just three days earlier, Edens, a God-fearing man, deacon at his church and member of the church choir, had taken Grant and his children out on a boat. The two were friends, family said, in spite of Grant's troubled past and present. </p><p>The recitation of the facts, and subsequent victim impact statements from Edens' family, moved Superior Court Judge Arnold O. Jones to tears. “I'm human, too,” he said, in relating that he was a father of a 15-year-old girl who also “loves her daddy.”</p><p>“To say that Mr. Edens was loved would be a huge understatement. He had a huge heart that stopped beating because of this defendant,” District Attorney <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/topic80"><b>Ben David</b></a> said. </p><p>On Monday, Grant, 38, was reticent when he pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in Edens' killing and was sentenced to life without parole in prison. In exchange for the plea, all other charges were dismissed against him and he saved his life. The District Attorney's Office had been intent on seeking the death penalty against Grant if a jury found him guilty. </p><p>Grant and his attorneys declined to speak at the sentencing, but Grant hung his head as three of Edens' sisters spoke directly to him. </p><p>Kim Morris said her sister-in-law had called her and asked her to go to the house because of the gunshots, and Morris did. </p><p>Using the light from her cell phone, she said, she also crawled across the yard as Grant exchanged gunfire with deputies. When she found “Tony,” she tried to revive him with CPR, to no avail. </p><p>“I will never forget the crying of Danielle and Tony's children when Danielle told them 'Daddy's dead,'” Morris said. </p><p>Edens' sister Lisa Lyons could barely contain her anguish during the hearing. Her whole body quaked and she sobbed as the facts of the case were read. </p><p>She looked directly at the crying Grant an arms length away as she spoke. </p><p>“I understand that you're a man with many troubles. I understand that the friendship you had with my brother was real and genuine,” she said, urging Grant to use his time in prison to save other's souls. “Michael, I can tell that you have a remorse about what happened, because you're not looking me in the eye, and that means a lot to me.”</p><p>Edens' sister Missy Allen, with an unwavering faith in God, also spoke directly to Grant, quoted bible passages and told him she had a Bible for him. And she said that she forgave him. </p><p>Her kindness brought Grant's mother and aunt to tears.</p><p>“Remember that you're loved,” Allen told Grant.</p><p>In another hearing Monday before Judge Jones, the stepson of a Hampstead man killed by gunshots to the head and chest in September 2011, also pleaded guilty to first-degree murder.</p><p>James Gorby, 39, will be sentenced Tuesday to life in prison without parole.</p><p>Gorby could have been sentenced to death if he'd gone to trial in the Sept. 27, 2011, killing of his stepfather, Roger Arnold Mock Sr., 67, who was found dead inside his Electric Lane home in northern Hampstead.</p><p>In exchange for the plea to first-degree murder, charges of breaking and entering, larceny of a motor vehicle, two counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of stolen property, were dismissed. </p><p>According to police, Gorby broke into Mock's home to steal firearms and anything else he could sell, but was surprised by his stepfather, who came home and interrupted the burglary. Gorby killed Mock with a blast to the chest from a 12-gauge shotgun, and shot to the head with a .22-caliber rifle.</p><p>F.T. Norton: 343-2070</p><p>On <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/news41"><b>Twitter</b></a>: @FTNorton</p>